Using this site

If you can spend some time, are planning to buy a computer, and
don't have a lot of background, look at the sequence suggested in
Suggested steps for buying on
this page.

If all you want is to look up a component or term
that has come up in the course of setting out to buy a computer, try one
or both of these options:
» Use the site's Search engine
» Orient yourself with the site map on
the same page.

For a quick check of specials available to City College of San
Francisco faculty and staff (and, in some cases, to students as
well), go straight to CCSF Deals.

For information on me and on the genesis of this site, see the
Background page.

Choices, choices...

Actually, deciding on a computer is no different from any other buying decision.
You are buying something that you will use. You have your own needs and
preferences to help guide you in your decisions. You wouldn't buy a sofa just
because uncle Jed pointed it out, or a car because a salesman said it was the
one for you.

But, like many others, you may not think that you know how to buy a computer.
These pages can help guide you through some common sense steps, like those you
would use to buy a refrigerator. No impulse buying here.

A Disclaimer: prices,
quality, and dealerspeak

I
should add a disclaimer: the opinions in this site are my own, and so on.
Certainly, not everyone will agree with what I'm about to put down here. But I
am basing what I say on several years of experience buying computers for labs at
CCSF and consulting clients, as well as for friends and myself.

If
you are enterprising and look through local magazines like Computer User or MicroTimes, you will see PC ads for prices that look like incredible bargains
compared to those I've quoted. It's possible that you will find a real
bargain—but unlikely. Computer components sell at very low profit margins, so
there is actually little leeway on prices. Volume makes the difference in prices
these days. What appears to be a bargain is likely to be inferior in quality,
out of date, or, simply, misleading. Bargain prices often completely leave out:

For
some reason, buying a computer can send otherwise sane, competent people into a
tizzy—as if the process was just somehow beyond them. Not
true. Just stay calm and figure out what you want and need.